Film: Prayanam
Rating: 2.5/5
Banner: Aryaki Arts
Cast: Manchu Manoj, Harika, Brahmanandam, Janardhan, Daniel etc
Music: Mahesh Shankar
Lyrics: Anantha Sriram
Cinematography: Sarvesh Murari
Director: Chandrasekhar Yeleti
Producer: Sita Yeleti
Released On: 29 May 2009
Is it possible for someone to fall in love at first sight with a girl and then have just two hours to win her heart? And that too at an airport? It happens only in films. Well, it is possible say the makers of ‘Prayanam’. How convincing has this been, let us see.
Story:
Dhruv (Manoj) along with friends Kailash (Janardhan) and Raman is on a holiday and he is going to Singapore from Malaysia.
On the other hand, there is Harika (Harika) who is going to India to meet up with a prospective groom and if things work out, she would get engaged to him. Fate comes in between and Dhruv chances upon Harika.
It is love at first sight for Dhruv and from then on he starts making plans to talk to Harika, make friendship with her and finally expresses his love for her. However, he has only two hours for that since her flight will leave by then. Whether he is successful or not forms the rest of the story.
Performance:
Manchu Manoj tried his best to look innocent but his expressions looked artificial at times. He was unable to emote that naïve looks naturally. Harika was balanced and though she is not a very attractive girl, but her eyes are deep and expressive.
Janardhan provided relief with his dialogues and actions and so did Harika’s friend with her sharp tongue. Brahmanandam could not deliver his best this time and had just one or two light moments. There were no others in the cast.
The script was written without any hitches but it lacked the depth to convey the message, the screenplay was apt, background score was alright but the songs failed to impress, cinematography was impressive, editing was crisp, costumes were stylish and trendy.
Analysis:
The director has attempted to come up with a different approach to a regular love story but then he gave it the clause of time that’s all. While he was trying to prove that ‘love at first sight’ does exist, he should have worked on generating that spark when the hero sees the heroine for the first time and the scene passes off without any emotion.
Also, the building up of emotions in the girl’s heart was not really convincing and it looked like a rather amateur tale of romance between just growing teenagers. The idea is good and different but the presentation lacked impact and the narrative was not convincing. While credit can be given to Manoj for attempting to come up with a variety treat every time, he must ensure that focus should be there on the content and not just the presentation. The film could have been a lot better if the comedy track was strong and an additional song depicting some tender feelings could have worked.
The film will appeal to a very select audience who believe in a rather mild entertainer without much stress and there is not really one thing that really catches the attention of the viewers except for the offbeat approach to a love story.
(SiraSri can be reached at [email protected])
